Fan Recaps and Comments:

Leafboltor:
My second show, and I took my friend to his first. The opening guy had some good songs, and he didn't overstay his welcome. Then TMBG came on. Linnell had his accordion on, and the first thing he did with it was extend it to it's fullest to play the first note of subliminal. coolest ever. the John's had some terrific dialog, the most memorable of which was just before meet james ensor, because the band had no idea what they were playing, i assume due to some mistake in the setlist. in the end, when they came on for the first encore, everyone stood up and bum-rushed the stage. my friend and i weaseled our way to the very front, and it was just the greatest thing ever. i came within 3 feet of both Dan's, and i could've sworn Weinkauf looked right at me. once the show was over, Marty came back onstage and gave me a high-five. he gave drumsticks to a couple people, but unfortunately i was not the recipient of one. later, we were waiting outside to get picked up, and Marty and Dan Miller came outside, Marty with a slice of pizza. they were talking with their wives and some fans, and my friend and i were sitting at a small table nearby. Marty had to put down his pizza, and he set it on the table, asking me to "mind my pizza. no touching." truly a night that will go down in history as super epic forever.

Mrquizzical:
We saw the excellent Family Show at Royce Hall in November, but were happy to get the chance to see TMBG in a smaller venue, and without a bunch of kids kicking the backs of our seats! The guys all seemed really enthusiastic and relaxed ; so relaxed that there was a bit of confusion about the setlist, which John L resolved when he clarified to the band, "it's the one with the accordion," and then to the audience, "but not the one you like." They launched into "Meet James Ensor," which the audience definitely did like. John F said they were going to play something from every album they ever made, and seems like they came pretty close. The night was capped off by an appearance by The Avatars, fresh from their stint on Pandora (their joke, not mine!). Overall, another awesome show!!!

Clayton S. Chan:
Another fine performance by TMBG. Marty was really just killing it on the drums tonight. Even better, he came back after the show and high-fived a lot of the audience. One of these days, I'll get a picture with Marty, John & John like the one I have with Dan & Dan.

I do have to say I was kind of disappointed with the merch selection this time around, though. I also wasn't terribly impressed with Mike Viola. The guy's got a good voice (he sounds almost exactly like David Garza to me.) but the majority of his songs were pretty lacking lyrically. (One of his tracks repeats the line "We burn at both ends" 6 times, and that particular refrain ends up in the song on 3 different occasions.) He seemed like a nice enough guy, but I think he needs to try a little harder with his lyrics.